The Right Point

GM CEO Ed Whitacre dials up his corporate jets from AT&T

2010-03-10T04:08:00Z

By Peter Faur

Ed Whitacre has been one of the country's most visible CEOs for more than 20 years. As chairman of Southwestern Bell Corp. - which he renamed SBC Corp. - he put Humpty Dumpty back together again, using the hospitable regulatory environment of the 1990s and 2000s to reassemble the regional Bell operating companies that had been split apart during the1980s by a federal consent decree. As the icing on the cake, he renamed his company a second time, reclaiming the venerable AT&T name used by one of his last acquisitions. AT&T, of course, was the company from which SBC (and Whitacre) had been spun off in 1984.

The tall, legendary Texan retired in 2007, taking a $158 million payout with him. He kept himself busy by sitting on ExxonMobil's board and serving as a$1-million-a-year consultant to the company he rebuilt, AT&T. Then last year, President Obama asked him to become the chairman of General Motors, hoping that Whitacre could reinvigorate another cherished American institution. Before long, Whitacre forced the resignation of GM CEO Fritz Henderson and, after a short search for a successor, took the job himself.

It turns out that, in addition to the $158 million payout he received from AT&T, Whitacre also negotiated other benefits, including a lifetime claim to 20 hours a month on AT&T jets for his personal use. This arrangement has been in the fine print of AT&T's public documents since it was negotiated, but it's coming to light now that Whitacre allegedly is using his AT&T jet time to commute between San Antonio and Detroit. You can learn more from this article in the Detroit News.

Sixty percent of GM is owned by the U.S. government,which stipulated as part of its rescue that the automaker had to sell its fleet of seven jets. So Whitacre, who is used to traveling at will on Gulfstreams and similar aircraft, appears to be using his AT&T jet time to fly into and out of the Motor City.

Are you outraged? I'm not, at least not at Ed Whitacre. He negotiated his deal with AT&T fairly and squarely. He's not using his air time to head to parties in Cabo; instead, he's commuting to Detroit to try to salvage a once-great American company.

AT&T's board of directors didn't have to authorize Air Whitacre, but it did. It seems to be an unnecessary gift to a man who could easily pay for charter flights for himself. But if you or I had a similar deal, we'd take advantage of it. You can't blame Whitacre for doing so.

If shareholders are upset by the arrangement, they should voice their disapproval. If the board continues to act contrary to shareholders' wishes, it can and should be ousted at the ballot box. That probably won't happen. If it doesn't, shareholders have no one to blame but themselves.

What do you think?

Grammar tip: The letters "ATM" stand for "automated teller machine." Saying that you're going to the ATM machine is, therefore, redundant. Just say you're going to the ATM.

While you're here, look around the blog. (Use the "Back to Main Page" button in the right-hand column if you landed here directly.) If you wish, you can subscribe via e-mail or RSS feed. The tools to do so are in the right-hand column. Please follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/peterfaur.

Quick justice for errant CEO

2010-03-09T00:28:00Z

By Peter Faur

The Tennessee Hospitality Association wasted no time in parting ways with its CEO, Walt Baker, who issued an e-mail last week comparing First Lady Michelle Obama with a chimpanzee. (See yesterday's RightPoint blog entry for more information.)

"Walt’s email reflects a deep misunderstanding of the nature of hospitality and our role as an association. His email was sent in his personal capacity and not in his connection with the hospitality associations,” the THA's board president, Bill Mish, said in a news release.

This obviously was the only action that could have been taken. The association acted swiftly and wisely in distancing itself from the author of an e-mail that could not be defended. Here's hoping that its next CEO will quickly return the association to its mission of helping its members, Tennessee's hotels and restaurants, make customers feel welcome regardless of race, color or creed.

Grammar tip: Use "got" to indicate that you have something in your possession: "I've got five dollars in my pocket." "Gotten" implies the process of getting hold of something: "I've gotten five dollars for that item in the past, but you might be able to get six today."

Racism has no place in a CEO's office

2010-03-07T20:24:00Z

By Peter Faur

As CEOs go, Walt Baker has been relatively anonymous until now. After his recent brush with notoriety, let's hope we never hear from him again.

Baker is the head of the Tennessee Hospitality Association, the organization charged with representing the state's hotels and restaurants and, well, making everyone feel welcome in the state.

How's this for hospitality? Baker recently sent out an e-mail that began by saying, "I don't care who you are . . . this is funny." He then attached a picture of First Lady Michelle Obama and a picture of a chimpanzee, saying that Mrs. Obama looked a lot like Tarzan's sidekick, Cheetah. You can read more about it here.

Of course, now that the e-mail has come to light, he's contrite. He's disappointed in himself.

"I did not think or consider its implications, other than that it was political humor," he said. "I am saddened that anyone misinterpreted the sentiments behind the e-mail. I deeply apologize to anyone who is offended by this action. I hope that those who know me realize that the message was not intended to be malicious or hurtful in any way and can find it in their hearts to forgive me."

I don't know you, Mr. Baker, but, forgiveness or no forgiveness, you have to go. I don't think anyone misinterpreted your sentiments; they're obvious.

This is such an egregious, stupid action that there's no way your board can stand behind you. A hospitality association CEO who spews such vile and has no clue that, in the 21st century, his e-mail WILL come to light, cannot continue in your position.

The Nashville Convention and Visitors Bureau acted quickly to sever its ties with the hospitality association. If they have any sense, Baker's board will do the same.

Grammar tip: Use the modifier "only" with precision. It's not precise to say, "The budget can only be balanced if programs are cut." Instead, say, "The budget can be balanced only if programs are cut."

While you're here, look around the blog. (Use the "Back to Main Page" button in the right-hand column if you landed here directly.) If you wish, you can subscribe via e-mail or RSS feed. The tools to do so are in the right-hand column. Please follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/peterfaur

CEOs - easy targets, tough life

2010-03-05T23:35:00Z

By Peter Faur

Would you want to be a chief executive officer of a major company? The life looks glamorous, the compensation can be extraordinary, and the power seems virtually limitless.

Pull the curtain back, however, and the picture is much more complex. People who sit in the CEO's chair face a never-ending stream of tough challenges, demanding audiences and often gut-wrenching decisions. It's no wonder that a record 1,482 CEOs resigned, retired or stepped down from public and private companies in 2008, and another 1,227 left their jobs in 2009, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a company that helps laid-off executives find work.

The best (Steve Jobs at Apple, Howard Schultz at Starbucks) and the worst (Dennis Kozlowski at Tyco, Kenneth Lay at Enron) end up famous or notorious. The stereotype is that they're all cut from the same cloth - hard-charging, demanding, arrogant, rude and egotistical. The truth, however, is that CEOs come in all shapes, sizes and temperaments. And regardless of what you think of them, it's nearly universally true that they've endured a lot of sacrifice and suffering along the way.

I've had a good vantage point from which to watch CEOs over the years. I've served as an in-house speechwriter for three of them, and I've worked with a couple of others on annual reports and special events. It's with that experience that I'm dedicating this blog to a regular study of CEOs. What makes them tick? What makes them effective or ineffective? Who shows extraordinary leadership? Who succeeds or fails, and why? How can people who work with them - especially public relations people - make themselves useful and valuable to CEOs? Along the way, we'll applaud them, criticize them and try to draw lessons from their successes and failures.

Whether you work with one, or you have something to say about specific CEOs or the breed in general, join in the conversation. I think we'll all learn a lot.

Grammar tip: Which phrase is correct - "in regards to" or "in regard to"? The second is correct, but it's best to avoid it as well. There are simpler, more direct ways to express the same sentiment. For example, instead of writing, "This letter is in regard to your telephone call of March 5," just say, "This letter concerns your telephone call of March 5" or "I'm writing about your telephone call of March 5."

While you're here, look around the blog. If you wish, you can subscribe via e-mail or RSS feed. The tools to do so are in the right-hand column. Please follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/peterfaur

And the winners are . . .

2010-03-02T19:49:00Z

By Peter Faur

The correct answer to last week's grammar contest was "D." Two people, Tony Felice and Peggy, had the right answer, as did Barbara Deters (although she entered through LinkedIn instead of through this site).

I've decided to call an early end to the five-week giveaway because response to the contest has been light. As a result, I'm giving copies of The Elements of Style to Tony, Peggy and Barbara. Also, I'm sending one copy to Cole Lannum, who was randomly selected from the first week's contest entries.

I'm planning to take The Right Point in a new direction, which I'll explain soon. Thanks for your continuing support and interest.

Grammar tip: In recent years, the word "learnings" has become part of the corporate lexicon. It's silly and pretentious. Use the word "lessons" instead.

Week 2 - Win a copy of The Elements of Style

2010-02-22T21:02:00Z

By Peter Faur

Last week's winner of a copy of The Elements of Style was Pam Baggett of Austin, Tex. To be eligible for a chance to win this week, just take part in the following contest.

Below are four sentences. To qualify, just leave a comment with the letter of the sentence that has no errors. I'll select the winner Sunday after 1 p.m. Mountain Standard Time.

If you want an extra chance to win, send out a Tweet with this message: "Take a grammar quiz to win a copy of The Elements of Style. Go here to enter the contest: http://su.pr/1L1B93 #rightpoint"

Good luck. Here are the four sentences:

A. I don't know what they're doing, but its taking forever to finish the construction.
B. I don't know what there doing, but it's taking forever to finish the construction.
C. I don't know what their doing, but its taking forever to finish the construction.
D. I don't know what they're doing, but it's taking forever to finish the construction.

Grammar tip: You'd never say, "The boss came to visit I," so don't say, "The boss came to visit John and I." The pronoun is the direct object of the verb "to visit," so you want to say, "The boss came to visit John and me."

While you're here, look around the blog. If you wish, you can subscribe via e-mail or RSS feed. The tools to do so are in theright-hand column. Please follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/peterfaur

Win a copy of the original Elements of Style

2010-02-15T17:01:00Z

By Peter Faur

For the next five weeks, I'll be giving away a free copy each week of William Strunk Jr.'s classic book on grammar and writing, The Elements of Style. Even if you have a copy of what is now commonly called "Strunk and White," you might want to enter the contest. The version I'm giving away contains only Strunk's original text, which he wrote for his students at Cornell University in 1918. It wasn't until 1959 that Strunk's student, E. B. White, published an edition that included his revisions and additions.

Anyone who writes for a living will want a copy of the Strunk and White version. Strunk's solo effort, however, contains the heart of the book, and it's an interesting study of how one man helped tame the vagaries of English grammar and composition for his students. Most of his advice is still sound nearly a century after he first published it.

How can you win? Leave a comment on the blog answering the question, "Which grammatical or spelling error most annoys you?" On Sunday, Feb. 21, I'll put all entrants' names in a spread sheet and use a random number generator to select the winner. The cutoff time will be noon Sunday, Mountain Standard Time. I'll start a new contest on Monday, Feb. 22

If you want an extra chance to win, send this text out as a tweet: "Want to win a copy of The Elements of Style? Go here: http://su.pr/1L1B93 Please RT. #rightpoint"

Grammar tip: Don't use the word "most" for "almost." Something might happen almost all the time, not most all the time.

(While you're here, look around the blog. If you wish, you can subscribe via e-mail or RSS feed. The tools to do so are in the right-hand column. Please follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/peterfaur.)

Speechwriters, Scottsdale is the place to be Feb. 24-25

2010-02-05T20:21:00Z

By Peter Faur

If you're a speechwriter living anywhere in the Snow Belt, take a break and clear your head with a trip to Scottsdale, Ariz. You can do so guilt-free Feb. 24-25 by attending Communitelligence's two-day seminar on Executive Communications and Speechwriting in the New Media Age.

You'll learn:

The best ways to keep the matter of reputation on the minds of senior executives.
The strategic opportunities - and risks - for executive communications in the new media age.
What executives want from their public relations staffs to help build and safeguard reputations.
What the future holds for reputation management and corporate leadership.

A highlight of the seminar will be "Speechwriting Jam Session 2010," led by Vital Speeches of the Day editor David Murray. Through dramatic readings from winners of the 2010 Cicero Speechwriting Awards and highlight reels from the Vital Speeches YouTube site, Murray will share excerpts from speeches contemporary and classic, famous and rare. (In the true spirit of an improvisational jam session, you’ll have a chance to nominate some of your own YouTube favorites, so come prepared!)

For those living in and around Phoenix, the seminar also presents an opportunity for a close-up look at the area's most interesting new office building, the North American headquarters of Henkel AG, which owns the Dial Corp. This building is LEED-certified and incorporates a variety of sustainable building elements.

If you sign up by Feb. 15, you can deduct $100 from the two-day fee of $895. I'll be moderating one of the panel sessions, and I'd love to meet a few of you.

Grammar tip: There's no need to say "oftentimes." The word "often" will suffice.

Kurt Warner - here to help, not to judge

2010-01-30T17:54:00Z

By Peter Faur

We're not close, but I've had the privilege of meeting Kurt and Brenda Warner on several occasions. They were gracious enough to attend a fundraiser in 2008 for the Phoenix Zoo, which I serve as a board member, and my wife and I have had the opportunity to attend events in support of their foundation, First Things First. There's not much I can add to all that's already been said about both of them. I can testify, however, that they are the real deal.

I was living in St. Louis in 1999, the year Kurt emerged from obscurity to play a key role in leading the ragtag Rams from worst to first. I attended the last game he played for the New York Giants, against the Arizona Cardinals, before he lost his starting quarterback position to Eli Manning. Living in Phoenix, I watched his time with the Cardinals become the final, triumphant stage of his career. I was there at his last home game for the Cardinals, that heart-stopping 51-45 victory over the Green Bay Packers. I've never seen another career quite like his. What he achieved on the field is remarkable. What he achieved inside his head and heart is more remarkable still.

Kurt's not regretting his retirement for one second, it seems. He knows the roles of philanthropist, father and husband are still there for him, and he's eager to to take them on fully. It's been gratifying to watch Kurt and Brenda, through First Things First, collect winter coats for needy kids in St. Louis, help provide homes for single-mom households in Phoenix, and raise money for flood victims in their native Iowa. (You can see them in the photo above helping out during the Iowa floods. Brenda's in the white cap.) They'll be moving on to even bigger roles of service now.

I have friends who say the Warners' openness about Christianity makes them uncomfortable. The thing I respect about both Kurt and Brenda, however, is they appear in no way to be judgmental about other people. They're not here to judge, they're here to help. That, coupled with an unrelenting pursuit of excellence, make these folks unusual and extraordinary.

There are plenty of self-righteous evangelists giving Christianity a bad name as they declare that specific floods, tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes are God's punishment against some group they don't like. Don't confuse Kurt and Brenda with these legalistic pot stirrers. They're not looking to put other people down but to pull them up. We should all be trying to join or emulate them.

Grammar tip: Keep related words together, or you'll confuse your reader. Don't say, "He noticed a large dent in the car that was on the side." Say, "He noticed a large dent on the side of the car."

A movie-based Rorschach test

2010-01-29T01:05:00Z

By Peter Faur

I've been driving alone a lot this week. This afternoon, I began thinking about movies that have mattered to me, and I gave myself a quick exercise: Without any deliberation, name the first movie that comes to mind from each decade of my life. Here's my list:

Decade One (0 to 9 years old): Old Yeller (1957). I still remember how the tears flowed when that dog had to be shot. I'd heard of rabies, but I had no idea how ugly they could be.
Decade Two (10 to 19): Help (1965). Looking back on it, this film was more labored than the Beatles first movie, A Hard Day's Night. I remember it because I saw it with a good friend, John Northlake, and we saw it in one of the old, ornate movie palaces in downtown St. Louis, Loew's State. The music lives on, but there will never be movie theaters like this again - a single screen and more than 3,400 seats.
Decade Three (20 to 29): Straw Dogs (1971). Ok, it's violent and it's crude, and for haters of Sam Peckinpah, it's all the ammunition they need to skewer him. I found it cathartic. Dustin Hoffman's character, David Summer, is a milquetoast mathematician who gets pushed once too often by a taunting wife and a gang of bullies. He becomes a one-man war machine as he stands up for a mentally disabled man. By the time the fighting ends, he's thrown boiling oil on some of the bad guys, killed one with a fire poker and taken out another with a bear trap around the neck! It's powerful, primitive stuff.
Decade Four (30 to 39): Return of the Jedi (1983). The good guys won, and the special effects were state of the art. But the reason I remember this movie is that it was an early lesson in fatherhood. My son, Paul, was 3 at the time and wanted to see the movie. OK by me, I thought, underestimating how it might scare the bejabbers out of him. We stayed until the end, but he ended up sitting in my lap, turning away when it got too intense for him. Needless to say, I gave more thought to movies we saw after that. On a good note, he turned out to be a wonderful, creative young man, so no permanent harm, I guess.
Decade Five (40 to 49): American Beauty (1999). There's no better film to capture the antsiness and anxiety of midlife. Too bad that Kevin Spacey's character, Lester Burnham, met such an untimely death. Once he worked all the craziness out of his system, there's no telling what he might have achieved.
Decade Six (50 to 59): O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000). After Fargo, I was already a fan of the Coen brothers. This movie was so quirky, so funny, and looking back, it seems like such a perfect way to launch the new millennium, a really good laugh before the downward spiral of the decade.

These aren't all great movies, and there are many that I personally hold in higher regard. But for whatever reason, these are the ones that came to mind first. That's my list; what's yours? Play along. We all know, of course, that the younger you are, the shorter your list will be.

Grammar tip: People often mistakenly use the word "if" when they really mean "whether." Use "if" to express a condition: You may borrow my car if you have proof of insurance. Use "whether" to express alternatives: She didn't know whether she should go or not.

Nine great grammar sites

2010-01-21T16:54:00Z

By Peter Faur

If you find yourself struggling to decide whether it's the "people's court" or the "peoples' court," if you're not sure whether to use "like" or "as" in a sentence, help is just a few keystrokes away. There's an abundance of great grammar, usage and spelling resources on the Web. Here are nine I use often:

Grammar Girl - Mignon Fogarty has made a name for herself as the Web's grammar guru. Check out her Web site, and go to iTunes to subscribe to her podcasts.
AP Stylebook Online - A year's subscription will cost you $25, but it's well worth it to stay current on usage and grammar. This is the stylebook of choice for most commercial publications in the U.S. (Within the past couple of years, AP decreed that it's OK now to use "U.S." instead of United States as a noun, not just an adjective. It's not OK, however, to use "ok" or "okay."
Judy Vorfeld's Webgrammar - Not sure whether you should use "due to" or "because of"? Check with Judy.
Ask Oxford - This sounds very British, I know. The publishers of the Oxford dictionaries operate the site. Don't worry; they provide a link for American spelling.
The Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar - SPOGG describes itself as a site for pen-toters appalled by wanton displays of Bad English.
The Purdue Online Writing Lab - Who knew that Boilermakers could be so passionate about English?
Suite101.com - This will take you to a number of other helpful grammar links.
The Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar - You can even learn the lost art of diagramming sentences here!
Life123.com - This is primarily a site to help parents teach grammar to their children, but the rules are the same whether you're you're 8 or 80, right?

Can you help round out the list to an even 10? Where do you find grammar help on the Web?

Grammar tip: The word "try" should be followed by an infinitive. Say "try to fix it," not "try and fix it."

Looking for the real world? It's wherever you are

2010-01-18T22:11:00Z

By Peter Faur

I've left a few jobs over the years, always for what I saw as better opportunities. Sometimes I was right, sometimes I was wrong, but I've never regretted leaving to try something new.

Often, as I was packing my belongings to move to the next assignment, a fellow worker would offer the observation that now, I was headed for "the real world." The implication was that our common employer was so hidebound or backward that it was out of touch. Also buried in the comment was the notion that somehow, we were being held back from doing our best work and achieving our best results.

I suppose my leaving lent support to the idea, but I never had much use for it. My employer must have been doing something right to succeed. It was at least holding its own in the real world. When I left, it was for greater responsibility or more pay and benefits. (Here's a tip: The one time I left only for more pay and benefits turned out to be a disaster. The temptation is strong, but if nothing else of substance is in place, resist it.)

I've always believed that wherever I work, I'm in the real world, and I'm there to help my employer succeed. If I have some insights that might help the employer engage more effectively, I should share them, especially as a public relations practitioner.

The job of public relations is twofold. We help employers and clients engage and communicate more effectively. But even more, we help them understand the environment in which their words and actions will be received. In short, we help them understand the real world. (And the truth is, good clients and employers have taught me far more about the real world than I've taught them.)

If you believe you're being held back by your employer from engaging effectively in "the real world," it might be true. It might also be true, however, that you're creating an excuse for yourself. If you focus on finding ways to help your employer succeed, and offer your ideas in the right spirit, you just might find yourself in the real world after all.

Grammar tip: The phrase "in regard to" is often incorrectly written as "in regards to." The phrase "as regards" is correct, however, and means the same thing.

Words of wisdom from Roger Ebert

2010-01-06T23:05:00Z

By Peter Faur

I've admired Roger Ebert's skills as a movie critic for three decades. His health setbacks of recent years haven't stopped him from telling us what he thinks of the latest efforts of actors and directors.

From the start, Ebert has given us an honest take on what he sees in the screening room. He didn't hesitate to call Dirty Harry "fascist." He stood up for Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ. He told Rob Schneider that his movie, Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo, in a word, "sucks."

What I like most about Ebert is his sense of self. He became widely known to most Americans during the years he and fellow critic Gene Siskel appeared together on TV. At times you thought they'd break out into a brawl over their disagreements. Of Siskel, Ebert once said: "The difference between us is this: Siskel thinks it's his job to beat Ebert. I think it's my job to be Ebert."

That's a great perspective, not only for those involved in creative occupations but for anyone. All we bring to our work, finally, is our skills and judgment. When we start to see ourselves in competition with others, we can ignore our best instincts and give our employers and clients the advice we think they want to hear, not what they should hear. That can be the way to win the career game short term, but those who truly make a difference know when to risk themselves and voice advice that's difficult to hear.

It's our job to deliver the best work and the best thinking we can. If you have trouble mustering the confidence to do that, check out this advice from the Harvard Business Review. It will give you some tips on dealing with another kind of critic, your inner critic. In Twenty Ten, learn to give yourself a break so you can contribute more of yourself to your employer, family and friends.

Grammar tip: Are you still unsure about whether you can start a sentence with "And" or "But"? Relax. You'll find some good advice about this at Get It Write.

Something for fun

2009-12-24T22:12:00Z

By Peter Faur

The clock above serves as an entertaining (although agonizingly slow) timer that you can use on Web sites, blogs, etc. The penguins love to chase your cursor. Try it!

You can find these gadgets and more at the ABowman Web site. It's a little something to play with on Christmas Day. Enjoy, and have a Merry Christmas!

(There's no grammar tip today. Feel free to commit your favorite grammar mistake. Another gift from me to you.)

PR 2009 - the good, the bad, the ugly

2009-12-21T23:43:00Z

By Peter Faur

With 2009 about to fade away, let's take a quick look back at some of this year's public relations heroes, goats and villains. When faced with a communications opportunity or challenge, these folks handled it well, dropped the ball or tried to manipulate it unscrupulously for their own purposes.

The Good

Ford Motor Company. Ford has been impressive in so many ways this year. Its social media guru, Scott Monty (@scottmonty) has become an effective representative for Ford on Twitter and in other venues. He uses his position to foster honest, open relationships. Ford is developing a line of vehicles that are both appealing and keep environmental concerns in mind. The company was the only one of America's Big Three to work through its financial issues without outside help. It has turned in a solid performance on many fronts.
US Airways. The airline was handed perhaps the best commercial pilot story ever when Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger safely landed his plane in the Hudson River after a potentially tragic encounter with geese. Instead of leaning on its employee to hit the news circuit immediately, the company gave him time to recover and regroup. I never had the feeling that he was pushed to do anything more than he wanted. As a result, we got to admire him without tiring of him, and the airline was able to bask in the glow of uniformly positive coverage.
David Letterman. Many people will never be able to forgive his indiscretions, but regardless, from a communications standpoint, he handled his story as well as it could be handled. He followed the tried-and-true advice of getting all the bad news out at once, being candid with his story, apologizing to those he had harmed and being as humble as possible.

The Bad

Kanye West. When your candidate loses, be gracious. Don't interrupt an award winner on national TV to say why someone else should have won! (And let's add Beyonce to the good column for being so gracious to Taylor Swift later during the Video Music Awards.)
The fired White House PR guy who flew Air Force One near the Statue of Liberty for a costly, panic-inducing photo op. Don't do that to the people of New York after all they've suffered!
Caroline Kennedy's on-again, off-again declaration about whether she wanted to take Hillary Clinton's seat in the U.S. Senate. She appeared simultaneously indecisive and opportunistic.

The Ugly

The birthers. It's certainly anyone's right to disagree with President Obama. But to keep up the allegation that he was not born in the United States, long after the issue has been laid to rest, is just irresponsible.
Sarah Palin and the death panelists. Again, we know there was no provision in the health care bill to set up government boards to rule on who lives and who dies and when they live and die. This was fear-mongering at its worst.
Rush Limbaugh. When dropped by the partnership looking to buy the St. Louis Rams because his past comments about race and other issues made him unwelcome in the NFL, Limbaugh couldn't just let it be. His take on the situation: "This is about the ongoing effort by the left in this country, wherever you find them, in the media, the Democrat Party, or wherever, to destroy conservatism, to prevent the mainstreaming of anyone who is prominent as a conservative. Therefore, this is about the future of the United States of America and what kind of country we're going to have."

In a special category, The Clueless, we can enshrine Tiger Woods. I'm sad to see him implode as he has, and at first, I was on the side of those who believed he deserved his privacy. At this point, however, he has dug himself a hole so deep that he will never re-emerge without engagement with the public, remorse, and an effort to somehow atone for what has happened. I doubt that he'll ever regain his stature or anything close to it. I know he won't have a chance without an intelligent strategy for public engagement.

There's my list. Who would you add?

Grammar tip: Take some time over the holidays to review Strunk and White's The Elements of Style. You'll see something new every time you read it.

Media Watch AZ, customer service superheroes

2009-12-07T03:15:00Z

By Peter Faur

So, I'm working on Saturday, and a client calls to say he has some video monitoring that has to be done on Sunday. A digital file won't do. He needs a disk, and he needs it in his hands on Monday. The answer is obvious: Call Mike Shaldjian.

Mike is the owner of Media Watch AZ. His clients know he will move heaven and earth to take care of their broadcast monitoring needs. I told Mike what I needed, and we arranged to meet at his office late Sunday morning. We got the disk work done, and I walked out with a disk in plenty of time to get it to the client. While we worked on it, we also watched a little football. One of the perks of owning a media monitoring business is that a TV is never far away.

A lot of people in need of media monitoring services already know about Media Watch AZ. If you haven't checked out the company, however, you owe it to yourself to do so. The prices and the service are great, and the company is a pleasure to work with.

Grammar tip: She wasn't enthused about her new job. She was enthusiastic.

It's North versus South, wherever you go

2009-12-03T19:39:00Z

By Peter Faur

The most beautiful scenery my wife and I saw during our Mediterranean cruise can be found in the south of Italy, along the Amalfi Coast. Getting there is not for the faint for the heart. Narrow mountain roads with hairpin turns make for a harrowing experience, especially when they're being navigated by Italian drivers who think of traffic signs as suggestions, not commands. It gets to be especially interesting when you negotiate these roads in a tour bus as big as John Madden's now-idled rig.

Our tour guide, Gino (yes, that was really his name), habitually yelled out "Mamma Mia!" whenever an oncoming driver came a bit too close to our bus. He once said that a passing car was a rental car. "You can always tell them," he said, "by the look of sheer panic on the face of the driver."

As part of his narration, Gino let us know that people in the north of Italy routinely look down upon people in the southern regions. "They think we're not industrious enough, that we're more interested in play than in work. You know what? They're right. But to them we say, 'And what's wrong with that?' Life is too short not to enjoy this paradise we live in."

It seems to be the same everywhere. Northern Californians see their southern counterparts as frivolous and vapid. In the U.S., tensions between the North and South that nearly broke the Union continue to this day. Sometimes they're expressed with lighthearted joshing. Sometimes they still get ugly.

Growing up in St. Louis made me keenly aware of regional differences and spats. Anyone who lived in the North thought of us as a southern city. Anyone who lived in the South thought we were northerners. To make it even more interesting, there's a school of thought that says St. Louis is the last of the eastern cities (formal and with highly defined social classes) and Kansas City is the first of the western cities (casual and open to newcomers of all stripes).

As long as they're done in the right spirit, these regional biases are fun. They add spice to life, and they help give us identity. Once in a while, though, it's important for us to realize we can learn from folks on the other side of the divide. Gino's friends in the North have a point. Work matters. But Gino's also right. Life's too short not to enjoy it. If you ever get the chance, go spend some time in his part of Italy. You'll be amazed by its beauty.

Grammar tip: The word "personally" is usually unnecessary. It adds nothing, for example, to this sentence: "Personally, I think it's the best movie I've seen."

Hope amid the ruins of Rome

2009-11-29T13:53:00Z

By Peter Faur

My wife, Pat, and I recently took the trip of our lives - a seven-day Mediterranean cruise with stops in Spain, France and Italy. I've always thought there's no substitute for first-hand experience, and on this trip, that belief once again was reinforced.

It's one thing to see a picture of the ruins of the Colosseum (and you can see my pictures of this and more here). It's quite another to stand where the emperors sat, feeling the enormity of the structure and knowing that 2,000 years ago, emperors regularly flashed their thumbs up or thumbs down to determine the fate of a gladiator who had run out of steam.

The Colosseum had one main sociopolitical purpose, which was to keep the masses occupied so they wouldn't take time to think, organize and possibly revolt. Distract them with the drama of the fights, and they would accept their lot in life more easily. Today we have our Colosseums; the Dallas Cowboys just opened a new one at a price of more than $1 billion. If you can't make it to the games, TV lets you join in from the comfort of your couch. If football isn't your sport, you can choose anything from baseball to soccer to basketball to the WWE and NASCAR.

Don't think, however, that I walked away from this trip as a cynic. If anything, I'm more impressed than ever with the human spirit and our ability to think, innovate and create. You can't look at the Colosseum, which sat 50,000 people, or the aqueducts of Rome, or the walls built to protect the city without being amazed at our innate capacity for problem-solving. The best of the Romans thought big thoughts, dreamed big dreams and, by and large, made them happen.

At the same time, they lost it all after a few centuries. I won't offer a theory about why the Roman Empire collapsed. The little research I've done indicates there are more than 200 theories out there, ranging from growing too big to govern, to moral decay, to a decline of military power. It's enough to note that major civilizations seem always to decline. It's a consistent pattern - birth, growth, decline, death. Thankfully, however, rebirth, reinvigoration and discovery rise up again.

In the West and elsewhere, we celebrate resurrections, Renaissances and Reformations (at least I do, and I have lots of company). Even looking at the ruins of Rome, I find promise and hope. We're an intelligent species. If we muster our courage, and tie ourselves to worthy, honorable pursuits, there are still many reasons to believe we can win over the many challenges we face today. What do you think?

Grammar tip: "Disinterested" means impartial. "Uninterested" means "not interested in." A judge should disinterested as he hears a case. He should never be uninterested.

Long Life?: a cryonics courtroom thriller

2009-11-11T08:01:00Z

By Peter Faur

Next month, I'll have lived in Phoenix for seven years. Those who know me well know that in many ways, I still consider St. Louis to be home. I'll always root for the baseball Cardinals (and in a quirk of fate, I've been reunited with the football team I grew up with, now known as the Arizona Cardinals). I long for the Arch, the Zoo, toasted ravioli and, most of all, lifelong friends and business partners who still live near the Mississippi River.

I have to admit, though, that Phoenix has given me experiences I would never have had in St. Louis. Here I'm on the board of the Phoenix Zoo, for example. And here I've met some fascinating new friends, including Bob Begam, who has become a client as well.

Bob and I got to know each other through a book club I joined last year. I learned early on that he had lost his wife the previous year. Then I learned he was a founding partner of a prestigious Phoenix law firm, Begam & Marks. Then I learned he graduated from Yale, majoring in English as an undergraduate and receiving his law degree from there as well.

He came to Phoenix courtesy of the military, which sent him to Luke Air Force Base as a JAG lawyer. He and his wife, Helen, stayed in Phoenix and became highly active in local theater. Helen, a graduate of the Yale Drama School, starred in many local productions, and Bob directed more than 30 plays over the years.

In addition to all that, Bob has written two novels. The first, Fireball, was published by McGraw Hill in 1987. Now, Bob's second novel, Long Life?, has been published, and it's a fascinating courtroom thriller.

Long Life? came about after a member of the Ted Williams family approached Bob about getting involved in the family dispute over placing the baseball hero's remains in cryonic suspension at the Alcor Life Extension Foundation in Scottsdale, Ariz. Bob didn't sign up for the case, but he became fascinated by cryonics. Soon, he was crafting a fascinating tale, especially for those living in and around Phoenix. References to local restaurants, watering spots and landmarks abound. Don't get me wrong, however. Whether you live in Phoenix or not, you won't be able to put Long Life? down.

The book tells the story of cryonics expert Dr. Rebecca Adler, who agrees to freeze the body of a virile, 34-year-old AIDS patient. To help her patient, Adler performs a “pre-mortem” suspension, putting the patient into a cryonic state before he has been declared legally dead. The physicist requests the procedure to protect his body from the ravages of AIDS. He is convinced that, after a cure is found, he will be reanimated to live a rich, full life. The Maricopa County attorney’s office sees the matter differently. Chief prosecutor Scott Novak files first-degree murder charges and seeks the death penalty for Adler.

Famed New York trial lawyer Joe Purcell is asked to represent her. He hesitates to get involved in what appears to be a lost cause. Finally he agrees because, as he says, "This will be the first murder case in which there is only one issue: Is the victim dead?"

The book is an interesting examination of the scientific, religious, ethical and legal issues surrounding cryonics. You can learn more about it at Bob's Web site.

Grammar tip: Use the word "very" sparingly. Instead, when you want to emphasize something, choose strong words. For example, don't say, "He was very angry." Say, "He was livid." Your writing will take on more power.

Winner of the ZooFari ticket contest

2009-09-28T19:16:00Z

By Peter Faur

Last week, I sponsored a contest to give away two tickets for this year's Phoenix ZooFari, which benefits the Phoenix Zoo and takes place on the zoo grounds this coming Friday from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. I asked entrants to retweet a message about the contest and then to comment on this blog site about which zoo animal was their favorite, either generically or at the Phoenix Zoo. There were 64 entries in all. To select a winner, I wrote each entrant's name on a spread sheet and then used a random number generator to select the lucky entrant.

The winner is ... Nina Simmons of Phoenix. Nina works in public affairs as a consultant, and she often uses social media to help further her clients' interests. Congratulations, Nina. I look forward to seeing you at ZooFari.

Thanks to all of you who entered. For those still interested in helping the zoo, click on the link above to buy tickets for the event or raffle tickets, or to take part in the silent auction. ZooFari will be a great party for a great cause!

Grammar tip: You don't need to be obsessive about not ending sentences with prepositions. It's better to do so than to write a tortured, convoluted sentence. As Winston Churchill once said, "That's the kind of nonsense up with which I will not put." When you can easily avoid it, however, do so. For example, instead of saying, "What do you want to do that for?", you could say, "Why do you want to do that?"